IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Braczkowski, A.; Watson, L. | |
| Observations of leopard and caracal responses to novel scents in South Africa | |
| 2013 Cat News (57): 13-15 | |
Several recent studies tested the efficacy of commercially available perfumes and colognes on captive jaguars Panthera onca and cheetahs _Acinonyx jubatus_ in ascertaining their potential use in in situ camera-trap and hair snaring studies. The authors of these reported Calvin Klein's ObsessionTM and Chanel No5TM were effective in eliciting various behaviours including sniffing, cheek rubbing and whirling. However, these studies were chiefly ex situ trials. Here we report on some of the first behaviours elicited by leopards _Panthera pardus_ and caracal _Caracal caracal_ in situ during a camera-trapping study in South Africa's southern Cape. Leopards and caracal elicited a variety of behaviours including sniffing, cheek rubbing and even licking of rocks scented with several perfume and cologne varieties (e.g. Lentheric I Love Vanilla, Junique and Dolce & Gabanna The One). Our results support previous ex situ trials, in that commercially available perfumes and colognes entice animals to stop and exhibit conspicuous behaviours at scent stations, allowing remote cameras to obtain a number of high quality photographs for use in capture-recapture studies. We also make various recommendations on how such trials could be improved with better sampling designs. |
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